Final Thoughts on Thanksgiving

As we end the month of November and head into the Christmas season, I thought I would share an experience with you.

In my work, sometimes they have motivational speakers and stuff to try and make the workplace a happier one. I went to a staff meeting where they presented a video they want to share with the rest of the work place, and wanted our input on it. It was good, I enjoyed it -- but mainly for the artistic value of it and the beauty shown. The man who presented the motivational idea was Dewitt Jones.

He is a world renown photographer, apparently, though I had never heard of him before. He has done lots of photos for National Geographic, and he talked about those shoots and how he feels about them -- telling some stories about the people he got to know through doing these assignments.

I liked his perspectives on the photos. I thought it interesting how he sought to tell a story with his lenses. Since he has become a motivational speaker, he has focused on that aspect, and developed his stories into different themes, depending on the subject he was called on to speak about.



But in this short video they played, he said that as he developed as a photographer, he found himself saying thank you after every shot. He was generic in his praise, he said he sent it out to the general cosmos -- but he felt a great need in thanking whoever it was or whatever it was that had created these beautiful vistas for him to capture.

I thought that was significant.

Our Heavenly Father has given us a great deal of beauty on this planet. We can see it and be thankful for it, or we can be sad and depressed and never see the wonders around us.

This time of year I feel is extremely beautiful. We have the glorious fall colors that we just experienced and the coming season ahead that I love -- snow! The seasons are full of beauty and capturing these scenes is an art. Whether it's in painting, drawing or photography, there is much to be thankful for. KSL.com has a spot where they share photos taken by readers and those who want share sights of Utah, you might want to check it out, they keep archives up to the past year as well as current shots.

I was glad that I had been given the chance to discover another person with artistic ability who is striving to share his thoughts and positive philosophy with others. I'm impressed with the example he shared in his presentation, and I hope all of you are aware of the joy of life and are thankful for your many blessings.

Onward to Christmas!

Oh, and if you haven't been recently, you really need to check out the recent additions to the Yourldsneighborhood website! It's getting better every day.

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